CUPE 3906

Thanks to all the amazing members who took time out of their afternoon to log in to this afternoon’s Annual General Membership Meeting. Some positions were acclaimed, some that are slated for election, and one that remains vacant. Here a breakdown of the results.

President: Sharoni Mitra (re-elected)

Vice President: **position contested, please see your McMaster email for access to the ballot**

Vice President External: Shirleen Datt (re-elected)

Treasurer: Chris Fairweather (re-elected)

Recording Secretary: Rohit Gupta (re-elected)

Chief Steward Unit 1: **position contested, please see your McMaster email for access to the ballot**

Chief Steward Unit 2:  Carolyn Capretta

Chief Steward Unit 3: Kezhuan Gu (re-elected)

Benefits and Advocacy Officer: Kyle Morrison (re-elected)

Equity Officer: Laurie Sherry-Kirk (re-elected)

Health and Safety Officer: Arghyadeep Sarkar (re-elected)

International Officer: **position contested, please see your McMaster email for access to the ballot**

Undergraduate Officer: Vacant, please contact staff@cupe3906.org if you are an interested undergrad TA

Trustee (3 year year term, exp. 2024): Wouter van den Berg

Trustee (2 year year term, exp. 2023): Maxwell Lightstone

Trustee (1 year year term, exp. 2022): **position contested, please see your McMaster email for access to the ballot**

The Political Action Committee (Co-Chairs) remain Leah McGrath Reynolds and Brock Bedo. These positions are determined by consensus at PAC meetings throughout the year.

A major thank you to Dr. Sylvia Nickerson, our outgoing Chief Steward, Unit 2 (Sessionals) who decided to not offer for re-election. Sylvia has done amazing work over her term as Chief Steward and we’re excited for her continued involvement as a rank-and-file member.

International-Domestic Peer Support Program

Calling All domestic and international students/fellows across McMaster’s faculties. Apply now to the International-Domestic Peer Support Program to support and network with a fellow in and/or outside McMaster through 4 meaningful virtual OR in-person meetings over 5 months full of opportunities and fun! Gain mentorship experience, exchange valuable resources, broaden your connections, gain cultural awareness, show appreciation of diversity, and most importantly build the community!!

More information can be found in the Registration Form (click here) Sign up by: April 7, 2021

Questions: Contact your CUPE International Officer- Sarah Elshahat (international@cupe3906.org)

Applications for Cornell’s Strategic Corporate Research

Cornell’s ILR School is offering it’s annual Strategic Corporate Research course. This course is for anyone seeking careers in the labor movement, worker centers, environmental groups, or other social-change organizations to make and keep corporations accountable. By the end of the course, participants will be prepared to begin and advance in careers in strategic research and strategic campaigns from having understood and researched corporate ownership structure, corporate finance, and the sources of union power.

The course is also for students who want to learn about and contribute to the innovations taking place in union organizing and bargaining campaigns that led to major wins for workers. This year’s course is being held fully online, and more information is available here: https://www.ilr.cornell.edu/scr-summer-school/course-details . Interested in applying for funding through the local? Then send us your application before April 6 at midnight. Please specifically answer the following three questions and email staff@cupe3906.org.

1. Explain your interest in this course and how you’ll contribute to the local’s activities with the knowledge you’ll gain from it.
2. Are you interested in the regular or advanced track? Why?
3. Review the details of the course including the application requirements, date range and time commitment through the summer – are you able to commit to the requirements?

Reminder: Return to Campus Survey

We want to better understand what are the priorities of our Members for returning to campus. If you haven’t done it yet (thank you if you already did it!), please fill this short survey and get the chance to win $25!

Day of Mourning – Online Ceremony

On April 28 at 11 a.m., the Hamilton and District Labor Council will be replicating its traditional Day of Mourning ceremony from City Hall on Zoom. The HDLC will also continue its practice of having roses available for those individuals who wish to lay one at the monument in memory of a loved one.

On April 28, we will remember those comrades we’ve lost due to workplace injuries and illnesses, not just this past year, but also throughout our personal workplace histories.

We will continue to share music as a tool of contemplation and reflection.

We will hear from some labour leaders about the impact the pandemic has had on their sector and how we can safely transition back to “normal” working conditions.

And we will hear from coalition partners around the city who work with injured workers on a daily basis, even under trying times.

You can register for the event by clicking here. Even though the event will be live at 11 a.m., the YouTube stream will be available after the event is done on our HDLC YouTube Channel.

Bylaws Committee Vacancy

We still have one vacant seat in our Bylaws Committee. Members of the Bylaws Committee are tasked with overseeing, changing, and updating our Bylaws and are also entitled to receive a honorarium. If you’re interested in filling this spot or knowing more about it, please send an email to vicepresident@cupe3906.org. 

Each year, we hold an Annual General Meeting, or AGM, at which all executive positions are up for election. This year, it will happen on Thursday, April 8, at 12 PM.

Immediately after the AGM, we will also hold a General Membership Meeting (GMM) to discuss other business relevant to our local. If you plan to present a member motion, we ask that you contact us at president@cupe3906.org in advance of the GMM.

To register for both meetings, click here (the GMM uses the same Zoom room as the AGM; as soon as one ends, the other will begin). Please remember: You must register with your McMaster email address no later than 10 AM on April 8 (but the sooner, the better!).

Here are the rules for the election process:

• Members may nominate themselves or others in advance of the meeting or during the nominations period of the meeting on April 8th.  Nominations will not be accepted after the nominations are declared “closed” at the online meeting.  If you would like to nominate yourself or someone else in advance of the meeting, please email staff@cupe3906.org.
• Those candidates present at the meeting have up to 2 minutes to address the membership at the meeting to state why members should vote for them in the elections.
• All candidates can submit 250 word (maximum) statement to be provided to the membership.  The deadline to submit a statement is 1 hour following the conclusion of the AGM on April 8th.
• Candidates can run for any positions they like (subject to the restrictions in Article 3 of the Local’s Bylaws). However, candidates can only hold one position.
• Elections nominated in the order listed at https://cupe3906.org/about-us/your-executive/
• Upon winning an election, a candidate becomes automatically ineligible for subsequent elections. If they “win” a subsequent seat, it is declared vacant and a new election is held at the next GMM.  (e.g., if you win the position of President, you cannot hold an additional seat and any other “wins” are immediately vacated according to the “priority” order).
• Up to 3 overall election scrutineers will be selected at the AGM.
• Voting begins following the meeting as soon as all candidate statements are received, the ballot is created and sent (approx 5 pm on April 8).
• Balloting continues for approx. 72 hours, ending at 5 pm on Sunday April 11.
• The Election results will be confirmed by the staff and scrutineers on Monday April 12 and will be released to the membership following the vote count.

Calling All domestic and international students/fellows across

McMaster’s faculties. Apply now to the International-Domestic Peer Support Program to support and network with a fellow in and/or outside McMaster through 4 meaningful virtual OR in-person meetings over 5 months full of opportunities and fun! Gain mentorship experience, exchange valuable resources, broaden your connections, gain cultural awareness, show appreciation of diversity, and most importantly build the community!!

More info. in the Registration Form– Sign up here By: April 7, 2021 (https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=B2M3RCm0rUKMJSjNSW9Hcsfa5bTuwzFKuex3CWXop_FUNVVFS0I5TUY0TFpRWEtKOTlZTEk5VDVQTS4u)

Questions: Contact your CUPE International Officer- Sarah Elshahat (international@cupe3906.org)

T2200S forms are being emailed from McMaster to all CUPE 3906 from Tuesday March 23 to Thursday March 25, 2021.  Due to the number of forms being sent, these forms will be sent over this 3 day period.

The email will come from HR-Tax-Forms with a pdf attachment that is for you.  This message is safe to open and you should save the attachment for your tax records.

Information regarding the T2200S form and claiming deductions for home office expenses on 2020 income tax is available at:

https://hr.mcmaster.ca/employees/payroll/t2200s-and-t2200/  and questions can be directed to the HR Service Centre.

The Local 3906 executive committee is proud to endorse this amazing event:

You can find more information here: https://www.facebook.com/events/171391804744011

Each year, we hold an Annual General Meeting, or AGM, at which all executive positions are up for election. This year’s meeting will be held on April 8^th at noon via Zoom. Further information will follow.

CUPE 3906 has received a small number of pins from the Ontario Federation of Labour to commemorate International Women’s Day. Pins will be mailed to CUPE 3906 members on a first come, first served basis with priority given to women-identified, trans, non-binary, two-spirit, genderfluid, and genderqueer members. If you are interested in receiving one, please fill out the form: https://forms.gle/16sAuM9ebVCRN6TG8

Our bargaining team has been elected! We are excited to welcome to the team Carolyn Capretta (DeGroote School of Business), Kojo Damptey (Intersession), Leon Karan (Music), Peter Graham (Labour Studies) and Zoi Bogdanova (Engineering). Congratulations on your election! Thank you to those of you who took the time to attend the nomination meeting and vote in the election. You’ll soon be receiving a bargaining survey to gather input on your priorities for the upcoming round of bargaining.

Calling All international and national/domestic students from across McMaster’s faculties. Join your fellows on March 27^th (5 to 6:30 p.m. EST) for a virtual inclusive “Meet and Eat” Event hosted by CUPE 3906 International Committee and the GSA. Grab your ethnic dish & come to celebrate our multi-cultural Mac, while learning about different authentic food cultures from all over the world! Send a photo of your neat ethnic dish by March 24th to your International Officer, Sarah Elshahat, at international@cupe3906.org, for a chance to win one of 6 gift card prizes! (3 for each international and domestic students). Competition rules and Sign up here (https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=B2M3RCm0rUKMJSjNSW9Hcsfa5bTuwzFKuex3CWXop_FUQjRPTkZSQ082V1oxMUJMS1ZVOU5QWjBCQi4u)

Questions: Contact your International Officer- Sarah Elshahat (international@cupe3906.org)